Refrigerator unit



2` Sheets-Sheet 1 May 16, 1950. A|='. E. BoE'rTcHER REFRIGERATOR UNIT Filed April 24, 1945 ww @N No.

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May 16, 1950 P. -FyBOI-:TTCHE 2,508,326

' REFRIGERAToR UNIT 'Filed April 24, 1945 v 2 sheets-'sheet 2 IN1/Ewan Patented May 16, 1950 UNITED REFmGERA'roR UNIT Paul F. Boettcher, Grand Haven, Mich., assignor to The Bastian-Blessing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application April 24, 1945, Serial No. 589,979

11 Claims. l

unit and particularly tc one capable of being assembled and removed as a unit.

Although the present invention is illustrated in connection with a coin controlled bottle dispensing cabinet, certain features and arrangement of parts can be utilizedvwith other refrigerators of the type having a separate space for a compressor and condenser and an opening in the wall of the cabinet to receive an evaporator coil. In the conventional construction "of refrigerators, whether they be of the coin control dispensing type, article vdispensing type or for storage purposes, the evaporator coil is generally made or fastened to the cabinet construction as an integral part thereof and cannot be removed without loosening many screws or bolts and removing closures and sometimes entire walls of the cabinet. This entails a very serious service problem since once a cabinet is insulated and placed in service it is very difficult to restore the insulating material in place once it has been removed in the eld.

Furthermore, in servicing a refrigerator unit that may have suffered a mechanical failure the entire cabinet has to be returned to the distributor or' manufacturer particularly if the cause of the mechanical failure cannot be detected in the iield or is extensive enough to require an overhaul of the refrigerator unit. These cabinets, other than the smallest ones designed for home use, are too heavy for one man to handle and very often require the services of four to five men to remove them or install them in the field. More often than not, rather than go to this trouble, makeshift repairs are made in the eld which only develop further service calls and other mechanical failures.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator unit which can be installed, removed or replaced with respect to a refrigerator cabinet quickly and easily by one man upon occasion without disturbing the cabinet construction and without need for removing the heavy cabinet itself from its place of installation in the field. 1

A'further object of the invention is to provide an improved refrigerating unit which includes certain shrouds and baffles in the refrigerator cabinet and maintains a constant circulation of air therein in lieu of cooling by heat exchange relationship between the air and an evaporator coil mounted on the inner wall -of the cabinet.

A further object of the invention is to provide from a refrigerator cabinet I an improved refrigerator unit which can be tested as a unit in a dummy cabinet and installed in the regulator cabinet without need of any auxiliary equipment.

A further object of the invention resides in the fact that the refrigerating unit can be removed from the cabinet Without breaking any refrigerator line connections.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cabinet and a refrigerator unitary assembly in which the compressor and condenser portion of the refrigerating unit is shielded from the evaporator coil by an insulating wall which prevents any condensation in the refrigerator cmpartment from coming into contact with the compressor and condenser.

The invention is further characterized by a relationship in which the refrigerator unit can be removed from the cabinet and scalded clean at a point spaced from the interior of the cabinet, and cleaning compounds can be used in the cabinet which otherwise would be deleterious to the refrigerating unit if the unit was present in the cabinet.

These being among the objects of the invention, other and further objects will be apparent from the drawing, the description relating thereto and the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken through the bottom portion of a coin control dispensing cabinet illustrating the relationship between the cabinet and the removable refrigerator unit in a preferred form of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the refrigerator unit as it appears when -removed from the cabinet for cleaning, servicing or replacement.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken through a refrigerator storage cabinet illustrating another form of the invention.

The cabinet construction shown in Fig. 1 for purposes of illustrating the present invention is similar in most details to that shown in the application of William S. Connell et al. application Serial No. 549,146, now Patent No. 2,435,177, which shows and describes in detail the construction and operation of the mechanism by which bottles indicated at Hare supported in a drum l2 and dispensed from the insulated cabinet Il through an opening I3. Reference is hereby made to this application for the details and construction of the machanism employed to dispense bottles or other articles which are placed in the cabinet i0 for that purpose to be refrigerated. I

Generally speaking. the construction is one in 3 which the drum l2 is mounted rotatably upon a supporting spider I5 with the periphery of the drum divided into a plurality of vertically disposed slideways I6 in which the bottles Il are stacked in an inclined position with the bottoms disposed outwardly as supported at their base by trip dogs I1. The bottom bottles are dropped one at a time as the bottom of the stacks are successively indexed at the opening I3.

Furthermore, reference is hereby made to the Johnson application Serial No. 574,764 which sets forth the refrigerating operation of the dispenser when the refrigerator unit is in place in which, generally speaking, the air is drawn downwardly through a center tubular portion I8 of the drum and passed outwardly and upwardly through an evaporator coil and is confined to flow from the tube I8 through the evaporator coil 20 by shrouds 2i, 22 and 23 located respectively upon a base plate 24 of the drum I2, the spider I5 and the upper end of the evaporator coil 25.

Referring to Fig. 1 more particularly, the evaporator coil can be circular or square in form and disposed in a horizontal position with a motor 25 mounted in the center thereof driving a fan 26 disposed within the shroud 23.

Referring to Fig. 2, the evaporator coil 20 and fan motor 25 are mounted upon one side of the substantially U-shaped frame 21 which as visualized in Fig. 2 is laid upon one side with the -evaporator coil 20 at the top thereof. A motor compressor unit 28 and condenser 30 are supported between the two legs or platforms of the U-shape frame upon the lower leg below the evaporator unit 20 with sufficient space between them as indicated by the arrows 3l to telescope over the bottom wall 32 of the refrigerator cabinet I0. An interconnecting portion 33 of the U=shaped frame 21 forms the lower portion of the back side wall 29 of the cabinet when located in place. The removable lower portion 33 of the back wall 29 is of sufficient height so that the evaporator coil 20 and the shroud 23 may be withdrawn horizontally from the refrigerator cabinet without striking the xed upper portion of the wall 29. The top of the extension 34 of the removable portion 33 of the wall 29 and the bottom of the fixed portion of the wall 29 are beveled in order to nt together tightly when the removable portion 33 is slid into place in the cabinet.

The extension 34 also serves as a stay for a supporting brace 35 which carries the weight of the evaporator coil 20 and is secured at the lower end by welding to the supporting plate 36 at the center of weight of the evaporator coil. At its upper end the brace 35 is secured in a suitable manner to the top of the extension 34 as at 31, a steadying strap 38 being also employed which interconnects the mid-portion of the brace 35 and one edge of the plate 36.

Upon the top of the plate 35 a drip pan 48 is disposed beneath the evaporator 20 to collect any condensation dripping from the evaporator and is provided with a drain opening at 4I to drain the. condensation either into the refrigerator storage compartment 42 of the cabinet I0 or to some point removed from the cabinet if a suitable hose connection is made.

Where the portion 34 overlaps the bottom wall 82 as an extension of the back wall 29, the refrigerator unit is constructed with an inner and outer wall spaced from each other, the space between them being filled with a suitable insulating material suchas a cork bat 29. For pur- 4 poses of illustration the inner wall is not shown in Fig. 2. A channel through a portion of this insulating material is provided for the high and low refrigerant lines 43 interconnecting the con- 5 denser-compressor unit and the evaporating coil.

These lines are imbedded in the cork bat as held in place by a suitable mastic 49a along with the tube 44 interconnecting the cold control bulb 45 and a cold control switch 45 located at one side l0 of the motor compressor unit 29.

The support for the condenser 3l and com.. pressor unit 25 is a platform or frame 41 having A L-shaped channels 49 with the flanges thereof extending outwardly along the sides thereof. A'

of braces 54, these braces serving not only to square the risers 59 with the base' 41 but also serving to brace the risers 50 against the load of the evaporator coil supported on the plate I5.

As thus constructed, the refrigerator unit is a wholly self-contained removable unit. Aside from slipping into the refrigerator cabinet the only adjustment required is the proper location of the cold control bulb 45 which, preferably, can be moved upwardly to a, suitable point within the refrigerator cabinet after the unit 21 is in place in the refrigerator cabinet.

The house line extension cord for the compressor is indicated at 59 and can either be taken out through the reticulated closure 52 or dropped through the frame 41 to lead from beneath the cabinet as desired.

Referring to Fig. 3, an embodiment of the invention is shown in which the evaporator is pro- 45 vided in the form of a. cold plateill and is carried upon an insulating portion 34a to be slipped into the storage space 5I of the cabinet 63 through a narrow, vertical opening 64 to lie along one wall of the cabinet in close proximity thereto. 50 The walls 52 of the cabinet need not be provided with expansion coils on the outer surface of the inner shell since the cold plate 60 need be the only part of the refrigerator unit present in the cabinet storage space. A

It will be understood, however, that either form of the expansion coils 2l or 66 can be employed in the cabinet 63, but in those small storage compartments such as ice cream vstorage compartments or those of household refrigerators, 50 the fan 25 need not be used and the cold plate 68 will suiilce. On the other hand, where the storage compartment is quite large or in frosted food cabinets, the fan is an asset to prevent stratification of cold air and to assist in freezing food to preserve it. e

The compressor and condenser portion of the unit can be purchased on the open market in the form shown alongwith a condenser fan. one blade of which is inicated at 56 (Fig. 2) to cir- 70 culate air laterally through the condenser radiator. The evaporator coil is designed for use inside the refrigerator with particular thought for its function and structure in the relationship illustrated and described. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2. the expanlationship with the riser members 5l by means sion or evaporator coil is above the compressor. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 the expansion coil is to one side of the compressor. Other relative positions may be indicated for different cabinets such as the expansion coil' below the compressor if desired. However, the evaporator coil 20 may be of any suitable design for any particular refrigerating cabinet as long as it is receivable as a unit with the compressor andcondenser into the cabinet with an insulating wall such as that represented at 32 lling the space indicated at 3l whether the wall 32 be'a horizontal or a vertical wall.

In any event, however, it is preferred that the connections between the compressor-condenser portion of the unit and the expansion coil be carried through the insulated portion of the unit where it meets with the mating wall upon the cabinet in sealed relationship.

In the particular embodiment shown in Fig. 1,

however, a preferred arrangement is shown for sliding the refrigerator unit in and out of place between rigid side walls having feet 61 thereon. 'I'he flanges on the L members 48 ride along suitable slideways 68 provided for that purpose on the inner sides oi the sidewalls at the bottom of the cabinet. In this particular embodiment the cabinet construction is such that the side walls come clear to the floor and the bottom wall is an oiset arrangement as shown in Fig. l having the portion 32 which slips between the evaporator coil and the compressor-condenser with the space which is not required to accommodate the removable unit being employed to store and refrigerate an auxiliary supply of bottles indicated at 10. Furthermore the drip pan 40 is of suiilcient length to extend far enough inwardly into the compartment for the drip opening 4| to drain down to the bottom of the storage compartment where it is taken care of in a suitable manner as by piping to a point exteriorly of the cabinet.

The evaporator portion 20 is received through an opening defined by tapering wall 13, the side walls (not shown), and the horizontal wall 32, and when in place the bottom portion of the upward extension 34 rests snugly against the exposed end of the bottom wall 32 as at 14 to provide a seal, suitable flexible gaskets or seals being employed at this point for this purpose to prevent escape of cold air to the atmosphere.

Between the bottom wall 32 and the back wall of the storage compartment 42 and between the side Walls is defined an uninsulated space in which the compressor-condenser portion of the unit is located. The side walls (not shown) which cover this compartment are provided with Windows and reticulated closures by which air is drawn by the fan 56 from the outside over the condenser coil 3u and out the other side of the compressor compartment. v

When in place the shroud 23 upon the evaporator coil 2li is in register with the shroud 22 upon the supporting spider i5. All that has to be done to install the unit is to locate the cold control bulb, plug in the compressor, and adjust the controls to place the cabinet in operation. The reverse is all that is required preparatory to withdrawing the unit from the cabinet for repair, cleaning or replacement. Furthermore, although in some installations it may be well to lock the removable unit in place in the cabinet, in the particular embodiment disclosed the removable unit is held in place frictionally and by pushing the I suitable registering openings in the flanges and in ing the operation of the cabinet even though it is` fully loaded with a full charge of articles to be dispensed. Thus the cabinet can be serviced by two different men, each without interfering with the operations of the other man; namely, a refrigeratorV service man and the bottle or dispenser service man who keeps the cabinet loaded with bottles.

Once the cabinet has been installed all that is needed to service the refrigerator is to turn the cabinet enough for the refrigerator unit to be removed. The refrigerator unit is small and light enough that a single man can handle the refrigerating mechanism. Therefore, a particular cabinet can be serviced by one man without any need of help from another in lifting or handling the parts involved.

Having thus described the invention, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various and further changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is commensurate with the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. The combination of a refrigerator cabinet having horizontally and vertically disposed walls joining each other at corners and insulated to deiine a food refrigerating compartment, one of said walls constituting a section spaced from the ends of the cabinet and one of said vertical walls being located at right angles to said wall section and having an opening therethrough extending beyond said wall section in opposite directions, a frame having a supporting element, a refrigerant evaporator carried by the frame, a refrigerant liquefying unit carried by said element, said evaporator, element and unit being disposed within the contour of the cabinet and the evaporator in close proximity to the side of said wall section in said compartment, said unit and supporting element being disposed on the other side of said Wall section, said opening being of a size and contour to permit passage therethrough of said evaporator, element and unit, refrigerant conduits permanently connecting said unit and evaporator, a second wall section carried by said frame for closing said opening when said unit and evaporator are disposed in place in the cabinet and sealing means between said sections, said second Wall section having an insulated portion engaging said sealing means and constituting a removable plug for completing the wall structure defining said food refrigerating compartment.

2. The combination of a refrigerator cabinet having horizontally and vertically disposed walls joining each other at corners and insulated to define a food refrigerating compartment, one of said vertical walls constituting a section spaced from the ends of the cabinet and another of said vertical walls located at right angles to said wall section having an opening therethrough extending beyond said wall section in opposite directions horizontally, a frame having a supporting element, a vertically disposed refrigerant evaporator carried by the frame, a refrigerant liquefying unit carried by said element, said evaporator, element and unit being disposed within the contour of the cabinet, said evaporator being 'disposed in close proximity to the side o f said wall section in said storage space, said unit and supporting element being disposed on the other side of said wall section outside said storage 1 space, said,opening being of a Siae and contour to permit passage therethrough of said evaporator, element and unit, refrigerant conduits permanently connecting said unit and evaporator, and a second wall section carried by said frame for closing said opening when said unit and evaporator are disposed in place in the cabinet and scaling means between said sections, said second wall section having an insulated portion engaging said sealing means and constituting a removable plug'for completing the wall structure defining said food refrigerating compartment.

3. 'I'he combination of a refrigerator cabinet having an elevated floor wall section of insulating material and a side wall insulated above said floor wall section and having an opening therethrough extending above and below said floor wall, a frame having vertically spaced platforms the upper of which is disposed above and contiguous to said floor wall, a refrigerant evaporator unit carried by said upper platform, a refrigerant liquefying unit carried on the lower of said platforms and disposed within the contour of the cabinet below said floor wall section, said units and frame being movable as a unitary device and said opening being of a size and contour to permit passage therethrough of said upper platform and the expansion unit carried thereby, refrigerant conduits permanently connecting said umts, and a wall section for closing said opening when said units are disposed in place in the cabinet, said wall section being insulated above said floor wall and engaging same in sealed relation.

4. The combination called for in claim 3 in which the closure wall section is also reticulated below said floor wall section.

5. The combination called for in claim 3 in which the lower of said platforms comprises angle irons on the side with outwardly extendingweight bearing flanges received in supported relationship on said cabinet.

6. In a refrigerator, a cabinet having an elevated floor wall section of insulating material and a side wall insulated above said floor wall section and having an opening therethrough extending above and below said floor wall section, a frame having vertically spaced platforms, the upper of which is disposed above said floor wall and includes a moisture condensation drip pan, a heat absorption unit carried by said upper platform above said drip pan including a refrigerant evaporator and a fan for circulating the air in said cabinet over said evaporator, a refrigerant liquefying unit carried by the lower of said platforms and disposed within the contour of the cabinet below said floor wall, refrigerant conduits permanently connecting said unita-'said umts and frame being secured together as a permanent assembly and said `opening being of a size and contour to permit passage therethrough of said units, and a movable wall section for closing said opening when said units are disposed in place in the cabinet, said wall section being insulated above and engaging said floor wall in sealed relation.

7. The combination defined in claim 6 in which the movable wall section is carried by said frame as a part of said assembly.

8. For use with a refrigerating cabinet having an insulated compartment, a unitary construction comprising a frame having a vertical section the upper portion of which includes an insulated wall portion for the cabinet and the lower'portion of which includes a reticulated wall portion, said frame including vertically spaced platforms secured to said vertical section, an evaporator for refrigerant mounted upon the s upper platform, a compressor and condenser assembly for refrigerant mounted in supported relation upon the lower platform to one side of the reticulated wall portion, and connections between the expansion coil and compressor-condenser assembly carried by said insulated wall portion.

9. For use with a refrigerating cabinet having an insulated compartment, a unitary construction comprising a frame having vertically spaced platforms and a vertical section including an insulated wall portion for the cabinet extending above said upper platform, an evaporator for refrigerant carried by the upper platform below the top of said wall portion, a fan mounted on the upper platform for circulating air over said evaporator, a compressor and condenser assembly for refrigerant spaced from said upper platform and carried by the lower platform.

10. In a refrigerator, a cabinet having an elevated integral oor wall section of insulating material and a side wall having an opening extending above and below said floor wall section, a Yframe having a vertical section and vertically spaced platforms, said opening being of a size and contour to permit passage therethrough of said platforms on opposite sides of said ioor wall seztion, refrigerant evaporator means carried by the upper of said platforms, and refrigerant liquefying means carried by the lower of said platforms, refrigerant conduits interconnecting said means in permanent relationship, and a wall section carried by said vertical section of the frame for sealing said opening, said means, frame, conduits and wall section constituting a complete refrigerating unit capable of operating inside or on test outside of said cabinet.

l1. In a refrigerator, a cabinet having a compartment dened in part by a vertical wall section of insulatingl material disposed intermediate the ends of the cabinet and a side wall having an opening, which opening extends on opposite sides of said wall section, a U-shaped frame having horizontally spaced legs, said opening being of a size and contour to permit passage therethrough of said legs astraddle said vertical wall section,

.50 the leg disposed in said compartment comprising a refrigerant evaporator means, and the leg on the other side of said vertical wall section including a refrigerant liquefying means, refrigerant conduits interconnecting said means in permanent relationship, and a second wall section carried by said frame engaging the edge of said vertical wall section in' sealed relationship, said means, frame, conduits and second wall section constituting a complete refrigerating unit capable of operating inside or on test outside of said cabinet.

PAUL F. BOETI'CHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

